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 It looks like they now know what everybody else does.
In a display of defensive dominance, Lincoln bounced back from the
loss to Lanphier with a 53-20 win over the Panthers in the first
session of the Central State Eight tournament held in Jacksonville.
The superlatives for the defense will be numerous for this one. The
Railers held Eisenhower to just 17 percent shooting, forced 19
turnovers, while holding their opponents to a season best 20 points
allowed. The four first half points allowed were the best by the
Railers since December 26, 2013 when Lincoln kept Granite City to
two points at Collinsville.
Yes, they were that good.
“I thought their intensity was real good tonight,” Coach Neil
Alexander said after the game. “This was the longest week, going a
week without a game, just practice. We even had the extra night
without the game on Tuesday or last night. This is the part of the
season where you just want to play games. We were ready for a game
tonight.”
 From the opening basket, the Railer determination to put their stamp
on the game was evident. The 11-0 run Lincoln used to take early
control was a perfect blend of ball movement, rebounding, shot
selection, and defense. Gavin Block, who led the way with 16 points,
scored the opening basket after an offensive rebound by Aron Hopp.
Will Cook bounced back from a tough night against Lanphier to hit
the first of Lincoln’s threes on the night. That was one aspect of
the Lincoln game that had struggled over the past two games, making
only three from long distance. Hopp scored on a lay-in after a
bullet pass from Payton Ebelherr.
After another basket each from Block and Hopp, both in the lane, the
Railers (14-3, 5-2) lead was already in double figures at 11-0. It
wasn’t until 3:08 left in the quarter when Caleb Taylor scored the
first points of the night for Eisenhower. Block started the next
Lincoln run, this time 9-0, with a reverse layup off a feed from
Hopp. Ebelherr’s tenacity on the offensive boards kept the ball
alive on the next Lincoln possession, allowing Block to score again.
Cook scored on a layup off an outlet pass after one of Block’s four
steals on the night. By the time Eisenhower tallied again, the
Railers had stretched the lead to 20-4.
 Another three from Cook started the final big run from the Railers,
a 17-0 blitz, the first ten pushing the halftime advantage to 30-4
after Isaiah Bowers drained a three from the near corner as time
expired. The Lincoln dominance continued to start the second half as
the lead eventually grew to 37-4. By this time, the Railers were
able to start doing something they were hoping to do as the week
long tournament begins and that was get as much rest for the
starters as possible. Depth and fatigue have been a question about
this team and playing 5 games over eight days would certainly put
that to the test.
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The Railers and the Panthers (5-11, 1-6) played even the rest of the
way, but more importantly, the regulars were able to get some bench
time while those that don’t see as much playing time were able to
log some minutes and make their mark in the box score.
Lincoln finished the night shooting 45 percent, a number that would
have been much better and the margin much bigger if they could have
made some of the layups missed on the night. OK, so picking on
missed layups may seem picky, but those same shots get missed in a
three point game, and you could be talking about the difference
between a win and a loss.
Block, who tied Gregg Alexander in 7th for career games played with
111, led the Railers as the only one in double figures with 16. Hopp
added nine, with Cook and Bowers chipping in with eight. Lincoln got
three apiece from Jordan Perry, Garrett Aeilts, and Nolan Hullinger.
KJ Fry added a jumper late, with Ebelherr making a free throw.
The journey across Central Illinois continues on Monday evening as
the tournament moves to Rochester where Lincoln will take on
Jacksonville. There should be no need for a pep talk to get the
Railers ready for this one as the Crimsons handed the Railers an
overtime loss in early December. Jacksonville will enter the contest
below .500 both overall and in the conference (8-9, 3-4). The game
is scheduled to start at 5:00pm and will be played at Rochester’s
newer athletic complex.
LINCOLN (53)
Block 7-13 2-3 16, Hopp 4-5 1-2 9, Cook 3-8 0-0 8, Bowers 3-6 0-0 8,
Perry 1-4 0-0 3, Aeilts 1-3 0-0 3, Hullinger 1-1 0-0 3, Fry 1-2 0-0
2, Ebelherr 0-0 1-2 1, Biggs 0-2 0-0 0, Kirby 0-1 0-0 0, Bacon 0-2
0-0 0, O’Donoghue 0-0 0-0 0. TEAM 21-47 4-7 53. 3pt FG 7-23 (Bowers
2-3, Cook 2-5, Hullinger 1-1, Aeilts 1-2, Perry 1-4, Biggs 0-1,
Kirby 0-1, Bacon 0-2, Block 0-4). Rebounds 29, Assists 15, Turnovers
6.
EISENHOWER (20)
Smith 4, Freeman 3, Woodland 3, Jenkins 3, Graves 3, Taylor 2,
Jarrett 2. TEAM 6-35 6-8 20. 3pt FG 2-18 (Jenkins, Freeman).
Rebounds 30, Assists 2, Turnovers 19.
LCHS 14-16-12-11 53
EISENHOWER 2-2-8-8 20
[Jeff Benjamin] |
